Naturally occurring vitamin E exists in eight chemical forms (alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-tocopherol and alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-tocotrienol) that have varying levels of biological activity.
Alpha- (or α-) tocopherol is the only form that is recognized to meet human requirements. Alpha-tocopherol (body’s main form of vitamin E) functions as an antioxidant, regulates cell signaling, influences immune function and inhibits coagulation.
Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) is a fat soluble vitamin and potent antioxidant that is believed to be important in protecting cells from oxidative stress, regulating immune function, maintaining endothelial cell integrity and balancing normal coagulation.
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that has antioxidant properties. Vitamin E functions as a chain-breaking antioxidant that prevents the propagation of lipid per-oxidation.
Alpha-tocopherol and CoQ10 are the primary fat-soluble antioxidants in cell membranes and lipoproteins. Vitamin E protects polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) within membrane phospholipids and in plasma lipoproteins.
Vitamin E is transported in plasma in lipoproteins and serves as the most important membrane protective antioxidant and free radical scavenger in the body.
Serum concentrations of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) depend on the liver, which takes up the nutrient after the various forms are absorbed from the small intestine.
References:
Symptoms of a vitamin E deficiency include:
Vitamin E deficiency is very rare in healthy people. Most of the time, vitamin E deficiency is caused by a condition where nutrients are not properly digested or absorbed. These include Crohn’s disease, liver disease, cystic fibrosis, and some rare genetic disorders. Vitamin E deficiency may also be caused by a very low-fat diet.
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
Too much Vitamin E is rare. It can be caused by taking too many vitamins.
If not treated, excess vitamin E can lead to serious health problems, including an increased risk of stroke.
Symptoms of vitamin E excess include:
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report and we’ll interpret and provide you with recomendations today.
Get StartedGet Started With Our Personal Plan
Advanced Plan
Unlimited Plan
Are You a Health Professional?
Get started with our professional plan
Welcome to Healthmatters Pro.
Save time on interpreting lab results with the largest database of biomarkers online. In-depth research on any test at your fingertips, all stored and tracked in one place. Learn more
Pro Plan
for health professionals
$45 per month
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
11-Eicosenoic, 25-Hydroxyvitamin D, a-Hydroxybutyric Acid, AA/EPA, Alpha Linolenic, alpha-Tocopherol, Aluminum, Arachidic, Arachidonic, Arsenic, Behenic, Beta-Carotene, Cadmium, Calcium, Capric, Coenzyme Q10 (Genova), Copper, Creatinine, Dihomogamma Linolenic (Genova), Docosadienoic (Genova), Docosahexaenoic (Genova), Docosapentaenoic (Genova), Docosatetraenoic (Genova), Eicosadienoic (Genova), Eicosapentaenoic (Genova), EPA/DGLA (Genova), Gamma Linolenic (Genova), gamma-Tocopherol (Genova), Glyceric Acid, Glycolic, Heneicosanoic (Genova), Heptadecanoic (Genova), Hexacosanoic (Genova), LA/DGLA, Lauric (Genova), Lead (Genova), Lignoceric (Genova), Linoleic (Genova), Lipid Peroxides (Genova), Magnesium (Genova), Mead (Genova), Mercury (Genova), Myristic (Genova), Myristoleic (Genova), Nervonic (Genova), Nonadecanoic (Genova), Oleic (Genova), Oxalic Acid, Palmitelaidic, Palmitic (Genova), Palmitoleic (Genova), Pentadecanoic (Genova), Potassium (Genova), Selenium (Genova), Stearic (Genova), Total C:18 Trans, Tricosanoic (Genova), Triene/Tetraene (Genova), Vaccenic, Vitamin A (Retinol) (Genova), Zinc (Genova)